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A reference manual on
Plantain
Cultivation in
West Africa
Produced by
A Reference Manual
on
Plantain Cultivation
in
West Africa
Plantain/Banana
Abstract
Plantain (Musa spp.) occupies a strategic position for rapid
food production in Nigeria. It is ranked third among starchy
staples. The countrys output doubled in the last 20 years.
Production, which is concentrated in the Southern part of the
country, still remains largely in the hands of small scale farmers
who, over the years,
have ingeniously integrated it into various cropping systems.
Production is male dominated, while women essentially handle
marketing. The inadequate knowledge of improved cultural
practices of the crop by the farmers, an inefficient system of
extension services and skewness of specialization in areas of
research are part of the reasons why yield potential of plantain
is still low in the country. Contributions of plantain to the
income of rural households in major producing areas in Nigeria
continue to increase tremendously in the last few years through
research and extension services conducting by International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and involvement of
Youth Agripreneurs of IITA . Unlike some other starchy staples
whose demand tend to fall with rising income, demand for
plantain increases with increasing income. With the potential
for industrial processing of plantain, which has recently been
adopted, and the increased interest in production by small and
large scale farms in the country, it is believed that Nigeria will
continue to be one of the worlds largest producers of plantain.
ii
Contents
Part One
Plantains and their environment .................................................1
Morphology..................................................................................2
Cultivars ......................................................................................3
Sources of planting material .......................................................3
Climate ........................................................................................4
Mulch ..........................................................................................4
Fertilizer ..................................................................................... 5
Weed control................................................................................6
Disease and pest control.............................................................6
Fallow ..........................................................................................9
Part Two
How to grow plantains ..............................................................10
Selecting the site.......................................................................10
Preparing the field .....................................................................11
Spacing .....................................................................................11
Selecting cultivars .....................................................................11
Preparing suckers .....................................................................12
Planting .....................................................................................12
Choosing the time to plant.........................................................13
Mulching....................................................................................13
Fertilizing ..................................................................................14
Controlling weeds .....................................................................14
Intercropping ............................................................................15
Propping ...................................................................................15
Harvesting..................................................................................16
Postharvest Handling16
Storage16
Distribution and Marketing of Plantain in Nigeria.16
Thinning ....................................................................................17
Controlling high mat...................................................................18
Managing the fallow period.......................................................18
Conclusion.................................................................................19
Glossary.....................................................................................20
References.................................................................................28
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iv
Part One
Control
Plant crop
0.6
First ratoon
0.6
Fertilizer Mulch
11.9
14.1
2.8
10.2
Mulch + fertilizer
18.8
10.4
7. Weed control
Weeds can be hand-pulled or chemically controlled. Paraquat
and simazine are appropriate herbicides since they control
the weeds without affecting the plantains, unless leaves are
accidentally sprayed. Glyphosate, diuron and gramuron are not
recommended as they can be phytotoxic to plantains.
8. Disease and pest control
Black sigatoka is the major disease attacking plantains;
nematodes and stemborers are the major pests.
Black sigatoka is a leaf spot disease caused by the fungus
Mycosphaerel/a fijiensis. All known plantain cultivars are
susceptible to this wind-borne fungus. Leaves first show yellow
spots which later turn brown and black. Ultimately the leaf
tissue becomes necrotic and dies. In this way entire leaves
become nonfunctional and in many cases, bearing plants are
left with hardly any green leaves at maturity. Photosynthesis
is reduced and small bunches (sometimes with undeveloped
fingers) are produced. Yield losses are estimated at between 30
and 50 percent.
Black sigatoka can be controlled with aerial applications of
fungicides belonging to the groups of the benomyl, benzimidazoles, chlorothalonils, dithiocarbamates, flusilazoles,
imazaliles, imidazoles, methylthiophanates, nuarimols, prochloraz, propiconazoles, triazoles and tridemorph, or soilapplied fungicides such as triadimefon and triadimenol. In any
6
Nematicides
Isazophos
Carbofuran
ethoprophos
phenamiphos
2.5 a.i.
4.0 a.i.
4.5 a.i.
3.0 a.i.
Nematicides
HCH (50%)
Chlordecone
Isofenphos
aldicarbe
Carbofuran
c.p.
a.i.
a.i.
a.i.
a.i
9. Fallow
A field that becomes unproductive should be left fallow when
the plantain mats have been destroyed. Good results can be
obtained with the use of kerosene, glyphosate or 2-4 0 but
the plantain mats can only be completely destroyed by hand.
This ensures that no live material remains to harbor pests and
reinfect the field.
To restore fertility, the organic matter in the soil should be
raised as high as possible during the fallow period by planting
an improved fallow (for example, a leguminous cover crop).
Otherwise the fallow crop can consist of trees which were cut
down at planting time and are growing back or of Flemingia
congesta which was grown between the plantain rows as a
source of mulch. In addition to restoring fertility, the fallow
crop should by itself completely eliminate all kinds of weeds,
especially grasses. A grass fallow is not suitable as grass easily
grows again and becomes a noxious weed.
Part Two
10
14
props are crossed and form a fork. This fork is tied together with
a rope and placed just underneath the bunch.
13. Harvesting
The bearing plant is cut and the bunch, 3 to 4 months old, is
harvested when 1 or 2 fingertips of the first hand start yellowing.
The bunch usually then ripens within a week. Care has to be
taken that the bunch does not drop on the ground when the
main plant is cut. The whole of the pseudo stem and foliage of
the main plant is then chopped and spread over the soil as a
mulch for the ratoon crop. If this is not done, weevils may live
and multiply on the intact pseudo stem.
14. Postharvest Handling.
High postharvest losses are among the major problems limiting
the availability of plantain in the country. As a result of poor
handling, postharvest diseases are commonly seen on fruits
sold in the country (Bayeri and Nwachukwu, 2003).
The fact that most large farms are always located inside the
forests, far away from road access, makes the produce to
stay on heaps for several days by the road side. In the late
1980s, transportation of this crop by rail to other non producing
regions was common, but the absence of a current rail system
and adequate road network to most farms now hampers easy
distribution to non producing areas.
15. Storage.
Environmental factors, such as temperature, relative humidity
and air composition, do affect the shelf-life of plantain. Coupled
with inadequate storage systems, insufficient distribution and
lack of ripening techniques, environmental factors always result
in a large proportion of the produce being wasted.
16. Distribution and Marketing of Plantain in Nigeria
Plantain distribution is rather complex in Nigeria. In the first
place, farmers whose farms are nearer to major roads harvest
16
with a machete. The sucker pseudo stem is cut off near its corm
and the point of the machete is twisted in the growing tip, thus
killing it.
18. Controlling high mat
After production of several ratoon crops, the upper surface of
corms in aging plantain fields can be seen above soil level. The
exposure of the corms, which is called high mat, is believed to
have several causes. The nature of ratooning in plantains seems
to be particularly important. High mat exposes the roots which
dry out. The plants become weak and tip over easily because
they are no longer firmly based in the soil. Earthing up (adding
soil around the plant) does not help much. However, mulch
protects the roots which would otherwise dry out and improves
the ramification and stability of the plants.
19. Managing the fallow period
A field which becomes unproductive should be left fallow. If
plantains are to be planted again after a fallow period, the
following points should be considered.
At the beginning of the fallow, all plantain mats should
be entirely destroyed. Otherwise, remaining plants could
maintain nematode and stem borer populations which
would readily infest newly planted plantains after the fallow
period.
Only manual destruction guarantees the complete
elimination of the existing plantain mats.
The level of organic matter in the soil should be raised as
high as possible during the fallow period in order to restore
fertility. This can be done by allowing trees to re-grow and /
or by planting a legume cover crop.
The fallow period should last at least 2 to 3 years.
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Conclusion
Plantain production in Nigeria is still very much in the hands
of small scale farmers who incorporate it into different farming
systems. The effort of these farmers should be collaborated
with a good and adequate social infrastructure, like better roads
and transport and efficient extension services. Future research
on plantains should address the issue of intensive cropping
and nutrient and water requirements to increase productivity
both on-station and on-farm with farmers participation. This will
assist in meeting the ever increasing demand of this crop by
both household consumers and the new small scale industries.
With the recent interest in establishment of plantain farms,
as evident by the increase in cultivation/harvested areas, the
countrys productivity will be tripled in the next few years. It
is believed that the country will for a long time be one of the
highest producers of plantain around the world.
19
Glossary
C: degrees Celsius, Centigrade 2,4 D: a herbicide
aldicarbe: an insecticide
anchorage: stability of plantains in the soil
backyard: compound garden
banana weevil: an insect that damages the plantain corm
benomyl: a fungicide
benzimidazole: a fungicide
bits: pieces of chopped corm used in planting
black sigatoka: severe leaf spot disease of plantains and
bananas
80m: a variety of cooking banana resistant to black sigatoka
bottom soil: soil from the bottom of a hole dug for planting
bract: a purple modified leaf covering a flower cluster
breeding: plant improvement
canopy: cover formed by leaves
carbofuran: a nematicide and insecticide
chlordecone: an insecticide
chlorothalonil: a fungicide
cm: centimeter
20
22
23
Musa: genus name of bananas which includes dessert bananas, cooking bananas and plantains, and their wild relatives.
Mycosphaerel/a fijiensis: wind-borne fungus causing black
sigatoka disease
nematicide: chernical used in killing nematodes
nematode: minute parasitic worm which damages plant roots
neutral flowers: see hermaphrodite flowers
no-till farming: farming without soil disturbance
nuarimol: a fungicide
Nzizi : a variety of cooking banana resistant to black sigatoka
ovary: the basal portion of the flower which develops into a fruit
in female flowers, but not in hermaphrodite and male flowers
paraquat: a herbicide
peduncle: see rachis peeper: a small sucker emerging from the
soil
pegging: using pegs to mark a field or planting holes
Pennisetum purpureum: elephant grass
phenamiphos: a nematicide
photosynthesis: synthesis of chemical com- pounds with the
aid of light
phytotoxic: poisonous to plants
plant crop: the crop which is harvested from the planted sucker
porous: having small holes through which liquids can pass
25
prochloraz: a fungicide
propiconazole: a fungicide
propping: the action of supporting bearing plants
protuberance: a lump or projection
pseudostem: false stem consisting of enclas- ping leaf sheaths
pulp: the edible part of the fruit
rachis: the peduncle, a stalk which bears fruit
ramification: branching
ratoon: the sucker succeeding the harvested mother plant
scales: narrow leaves which are produced by peepers and
sword suckers
simazine: a herbicide small
plantains: plantains producing fewer than 32 foliage leaves
before flowering
snap-off: corm breaks, leaving a part in the ground
split application: the application of identical amounts of a substance (e.g. fertilizer) at regular intervals
Stem borer: see banana weevil
stool: see mat
sucker: a shoot from the main plant which can develop into a
bearing plant
sword sucker: a large peeper with lanceo-lated leaves
thinning: the process of eliminating all but one sucker to avoid
competition
26
tip-over: entire corm with the roots comes out 0f the ground
ton: 1000 kilograms
topsoil: soil at the top or on the surface of the field which is
usually darker and richer in nutrients than the bottom soil underneath it
triadimefon: a fungicide
triadimenol: a fungicide
triazole: a fungicide
tridemorph: a fungicide
uprooting: see tip-over
waterlogging: when water remains on the field after rain; this is
caused by bad drainage
27
References
Barker W. 1969. Growth and development of the banana plant.
Gross leaf emergence. Annals of Botany 33:
Stover RH, Simmonds NW. 1987. Bananas, 3rd edition. Tropical
Agricultural Series. Longman, Essex, UK..
Swennen R, De Langhe E. 1985. Growth parameters of yield of
plantain (Musa cv. AAB)
Swennen RL, Rosales F. 1994. Bananas In: Encyclopedia of
Agricultural Science, Volume 1
B.Faturoti, A. Tenkouano, J. Lemchi, and N. Nnaji. Rapid
Multiplication of Plantain and Banana. Macropropagation
Techniques .
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